The Unsorted
by Pen.la.P
Summary: Rapunzel is a new student at Hogwarts- join her and 41 other favorite Disney and Manga characters through sorting and magical life. Hogwarts modern AU where first year starts in high/secondary school. Unexpected romance and friendships.
1. Chapter 1

The Unsorted

A Hogwarts Modern AU with Disney and Manga characters. Hogwarts here starts in secondary/ high school so all the characters are teenagers.

_My mother is going to kill me._

Rapunzel stood in the station staring down at the papers in her hand, carting a suitcase, a duffel bag, and a backpack, a cauldron slung in the crook of an arm and a cat carrier in one hand. She tried to re-shift her belongings as she heard a soft mewing from the cat.

"Hush, Penny, I know…" she tried to calm the cat while deciphering the writing.

_Platform 9 and ¾? This doesn't make any sense. Maybe it _is_ a trap._

Her mother had said it would be a trap. There was no other explanation. There was no such thing as witches and wizards.

Rapunzel had always been able to do extraordinary things but her mother had always blamed it on her hair; golden hair that had special healing powers and glowed when she sang. Her mother had always said that if it were cut it would lose all of its magical power and that there were bad people in the world who might try to take her to sell its powers and make lots of money. Her hair wasn't 80 feet long, but it was long. Xie Quiping grew her hair to 18 feet in 31 years and Rapunzel wasn't even that old yet- that was the 2004 World Record. Rapunzel's hair, when unbraided, was almost to her feet.

She knew what her mother had said, but still…. What if she really _was_ a witch? What if she could really do all sorts of magical things? Not just healing things, but all kinds?

She hoped it wasn't a scheme, because she had spent almost all of her savings on supplies; scales, a telescope, a cauldron, and phials she had been able to find on the internet. Her mother was seldom home so she never noticed when the packages were delivered in the mail. Her mother never would have known about the Hogwarts letter if Rapunzel hadn't asked her permission to go. And she had asked and her mother had said no and now here she was and her mother would have no idea she was gone until she came home in the evening.

_What had she done?_

_Who cared? She was going away to school to do magic!_

_But was she, really?_

Rapunzel hoped leather gloves could substitute for dragon skin. Dragons! So there were such things as dragons! Rapunzel had always loved the idea of magical creatures! She had gotten a hat at a costume shop but wanted better quality for her robes and cloak… What kind of robes, anyway? Certainly not bathrobes….

Rapunzel felt dizzy and excited and exhausted. She leaned against a pillar breathlessly. Now to find Platform 9 and ¾… whatever that meant.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two- The Train

_Thud!_

Suddenly Rapunzel found herself hard on the ground as if the pillar she was leaning on had ceased to exist.

_Ow…_

She rubbed her head as she sat upright, acknowledging the faint sound of snickering coming from behind her.

"You must be a muggle born!" a boy chuckled.

Rapunzel dusted herself off and collected her luggage before looking over to see a boy with floppy brown hair and deep brown eyes. Suddenly, the world seemed to get a little hazy. Rapunzel shook her head and put her hand to it… maybe she had gotten a concussion. The boys around the one who spoke were also laughing at her, but she shrugged it off and turned to walk away.

"Catch ya later, Blondie!" the boy yelled after her.

Rapunzel looked around to see a bunch of kids with parents and trunks and owls and before her, a huge, red train emitting steam and giving the platform an ethereal fogginess. She glanced back at the pillar which now had a sign reading _9 ¾. _

It was real!

The excitement froze Rapunzel in place before a current ran through her and she leaped and squealed.

"I'm going to Hogwarts! I'm really going to Hogwarts!" she jumped and span around, attracting the attention of many of her peers and the brown-haired boy who half covered his mouth as he laughed, gazing at her with intrigue. Rapunzel fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

"What kind of trunks are these!?" a girl with pink hair sped by and gestured at Rapunzel's bags excitedly. She was easily distracted by something out of Rapunzel's view. "Taiga!" she yelled and ran away.

Everyone was in some flurry or excitement. Rapunzel looked around trying to figure out where to go or what to do. What did she do with her luggage? Did it go on with her? Was she assigned a specific seat? Did she need to wait to get on?

"Um…" no one looked at her. Mothers kissed their children and Rapunzel wondered if most mothers would let their children follow their dreams.

_No. Mother only wants what's best for you._

A wave of guilt swept over her.

"This was so wrong, so very, very wrong…" she muttered, panic sweeping over her. She rushed back over to the pillar and nearly missed getting hit by some people coming through. She caught her breath and tried pushing against the pillar. It wouldn't let her back through.

"What?" she gasped "No, no, no!"

"Problem, Blondie?" she turned around to see the boy with the floppy hair propping himself against the pillar over her. Her breath caught in her throat; she was trapped between a portal and a boy… marble and a body… a rock and a hard spot….

She ducked out from under him less she get crashed into for real.

"The name's Flynn. Flynn Rider."

"Alright…. _Flynn…_ What do you want?"

"I might as well ask what _you _want, trying to get back through the other side."

"My mother doesn't know I'm here." Rapunzel fretted.

"Well, what she doesn't know can't kill her, am I right?" Flynn chuckled and ruffled the top of her head condescendingly. Rapunzel was in too much grief to notice. Even when people barreled out of the barrier behind the two, she didn't flinch.

"This would kill her."

Flynn sighed dramatically.

"After the train leaves the barrier opens the other way; it's a new safety mechanism so people aren't running into one another."

Rapunzel looked hesitantly at the barrier.

"Look, it's probably best that you go; wouldn't want to crush mummy's heart. She'd be devastated. Coming home, wondering where you've gone… the worry… the betrayal…."

The barrier didn't flinch, although Rapunzel did and she glared as if expecting the brick to sympathize with her.

"Nice meeting you, Blondie…" Flynn trailed as he walked toward the train.

"I'M GOING!"

"What?"

"I'm going to Hogwarts!" she shouted and stormed toward the train before she could change her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three-

By the time Rapunzel made her way onto the train it was mostly full; she searched aimlessly for a compartment where she wouldn't intrude on everyone who seemed to be making friends so easily. She wondered whether or not she should find Flynn, but he wasn't her friend, exactly, and she didn't want to face his snickering companions. She wandered past a boisterous compartment and saw him in it; it was already full but he looked up and winked at her… she could feel her face redden but moved on.

An elderly lady approached her from the opposite direction.

"Miss, you're gonna need to fin' a compartment. The train is 'bout to leave."

"Yes, sorry, pardon me…" Rapunzel's blush grew as she tried to stumble and maneuver around the lady.

Rapunzel was already near the back of the train when the whistle sounded. She looked in the last compartment to see a solitary boy staring out the window.

"I'm terribly sorry, is it quite alright if I sit in here?"

The boy grunted a response without hardly looking at her.

"O-kay…?"

She hesitantly walked in and shut the door behind her. She shoved her suitcase in an overhead bin and piled her remaining things next to her. The boy didn't blink. It was awkward to stare at a boy who didn't look back so she trained her eyes wearily out the window.

"I'm Rapunzel." She spoke and the boy turned toward her, still unblinking, a hard glare marring his face. He did not blink. A glance that some may find intimidating but Rapunzel only flinched a little then composed herself.

He had scruffy, shoulder-length auburn hair and piercing blue eyes. He turned away again.

"May I… uh…. Ask your name?"

There was a lengthy silence.

"Adam."

Rapunzel didn't know what else to say. The train started up slowly and as it pulled out of the station a slow drizzle came from the white-grey sky and water droplets clung and shivered against the window, dragging trails horizontally. Rapunzel traced them with her fingers, smiling despite the grumpiness of her partner. She was going to learn magic.

"You're a muggle born, aren't you?"

Rapunzel was shocked into reality by the boy's gruff voice. He must have hit puberty very early, she could hear his voice scrape the insides of his throat. Despite trying to make conversation, he didn't look any less menacing. He was the complete opposite of Flynn.

"Muggle?"

"Non-magic folk."

"I- I think so…. My mother doesn't believe in magic, so… well… I mean she doesn't believe in witches and wizards…" Rapunzel thought of her hair and was glad that her new acquaintance didn't inquire. "I don't have a father."

Her acquaintance was quiet and, although the silence wasn't comfortable, she wondered if conversation would be any better.

"How did you know? …. Know that I'm a m- m- "

"It's pretty obvious."

Rapunzel wondered if he had seen her episode on the platform and found that she didn't care if he had.

She could hear the loud buzz of excitement echoing throughout the train. Friends who had missed each other all summer rejoicing in each others' presence and first years bubbling about what was to come. Rapunzel had always been a very lonely person; with a mother who had homeschooled her since birth but who was never actually there much, she was self-learned and incredibly independent, but very lonely, save her cat.

Penny made a soft meow from her crate and Rapunzel handled her carefully. She never had much liked cats until the small grey one had wandered into her life. She had personally always wanted a chameleon, but maybe that was just the artist in her. Now, though, the furry creature was her only friend.

Adam eyed the cat suspiciously and Penny leaped out of Rapunzel's arms onto the floor, sniffing him at a safe distance.

"Cats usually don't like me."

"Penny likes everyone." Rapunzel nodded, and sure enough, ten minutes later she was asleep in a pile on the duffel bag.

Adam followed suit shortly thereafter and Rapunzel was alone to trace raindrops.

She heard a soft knock on the door and was startled into seeing the same older woman from before, who had told her to find a seat.

"Anything from the sweets trolley, dear?"

"S-sure…" Rapunzel fished for her wallet, wanting to buy a little something at least as a nonverbal apology for nearly knocking the lady over with her suitcase. She pulled out a five and handed it to the lady, pointing to a box of what looked like jelly beans.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear, we don't take muggle money."

Rapunzel was mortified, her face flushing deep scarlet as her money was handed back. It was as if the weight of her actions hit her in the face. What was she doing? Going to magic school without her mother's permission with supplies bought on EBay?

"Oh, now, dear, it can't be as bad as all that. Lots of people get homesick… it goes away with time," the lady said, misinterpreting Rapunzel's expression, "here… this one's on me."

The lady handed Rapunzel the box and before she could protest, the lady was gone.

_Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans_

She popped one into her mouth and it was not pleasant.


	4. Chapter 4

Her mother would be getting home about now.

The rain still poured out the window when a couple of hours later the train began to slow. Rapunzel heard her peers grow rowdier as the train pulled to a stop. She decided she had better wake Adam, since the stopping had done nothing to disturb his slumber.

She stood gently over him… his hair was quite nice for a boy's and his sleeping face was so calm and gentle, like that of a little kid… nothing like his earlier glare. Her breath caught in her throat as she hesitated, nudging his shoulder gently. He didn't move. She pushed a little harder. Nothing.

"Adam?" she asked softly. He didn't stir.

As a last resort, she squeezed her eyes shut and shook his shoulder. He sprang alert with vicious ferocity, clamping down on her wrist with his hand and piercing her eyes with an intense gaze.

After a second, he released her, closing his eyes and breathing deeply, but not venturing to apologize for nearly attacking her.

"We're here." Rapunzel offered, weakly, as explanation.

Adam made a soft sort of groan and reached to get his own trunks off the shelf. Rapunzel watched him silently.

Students began filing past, all dressed identically.

_So that's what the robes look like. _Rapunzel thought to herself. She was never going to have found those online. Adam noticed her wary expression.

"Different from what they wore back in the day, I hear. More fashionable, or something. Ever since Harry Potter, I say we're leaning more muggle." Adam said it distastefully.

"Harry Potter?"

Adam said nothing, but made the effort to turn his permanent glare on her- she was no longer shocked by it.

"I don't have robes." Rapunzel confessed.

They were cute. Girls in skirts and stockings and thigh-high tights. Some of the older kids were wearing ties, all in colors of yellow or blue or red or green. White, collared shirts, grey and black vests, sweaters…. She didn't know what the attire used to be, but Adam was right…. No one looked too different from 'muggles'… they certainly weren't wearing bathrobes. But still…. There was something about them…. Not EBay. And on top of these 'muggle' uniforms were black robes, not bathrobes, but nice robes.

Adam wasn't wearing robes, nor did he make any inclination of changing or even putting a robe on over his attire.

Rapunzel put penny back in her crate and collected her things as well. The pair waited until everyone had passed their carriage and then opened the door, poking their heads into the dark void. Adam didn't speak but poked his head out and walked out without even a word. Rapunzel trotted behind him as quickly as possible with all of her items in tow. They joined all of the other students outside.

"That's a lot of hair." She heard a student whisper. Adam didn't turn or say anything, but Rapunzel watched him and he seemed attuned to those words and to her, remaining close to her even though he stood in front of her and never turned back.

It was dark and Rapunzel could see very little through the huddle of bodies and hear very little past the excited murmurs. She wanted to giggle at Adam's stoic demeanor. He stood firm and growling, even in the sea of adolescence. He was an adolescent but Rapunzel wasn't so sure that he knew it.

"First years used to be middle schoolers." He said, still not turning to look at her. "But things tend to get f-ed up at Hogwarts so… you know, I guess they reckoned it's better to start a little older."

"W-what?"

Adam turned and looked at her with slightly less of a grimace, even if it wasn't a smile.

"First years, gather over here, please," Rapunzel heard a female voice that she couldn't see. She craned her neck for a better view, simultaneously wondering if she might catch a glimpse of Flynn in the process.

When she turned back around, Adam was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

The Sorting

Author's Note: Hey readers! This will be the longest chapter so far, and it's really where the story starts. Sorry, this isn't a Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons series, but I believe it is still going to be pretty good. If you've made it to Chapter Four without getting totally bored, I can promise it will just keep getting better :D Rapunzel is a character I really love, so she's been at the front for most of the time, but you're going to start seeing a few more familiar faces, too, especially if you're into Toradora!, Fruits Basket, The Gentleman's Alliance Cross, or Disney in general. But if you're not, don't worry; they'll all be introduced as new characters- no background knowledge necessary.

Anyway, I want to thank you all again for reading, you're what keeps me going. I try to post every day, so despite the fact that this is a newer story, the chapters will start piling on- Enjoy!

"Okay, leave all your luggage here, it will be taken up to the castle and placed in your dorms after the sorting."

_Sorting?_

None of the other students made any hints at confusion and Rapunzel was very quickly starting to realize that she was a gazillion steps behind everyone else's knowledge.

She deposited her suitcase and backpack and duffel bag with all of the other students' belongings, but couldn't bear to part with Penny, who most certainly didn't count as luggage.

"Miss," a lady approached her, probably the same lady directing the first years, "Your cat will make it safely to the dorm with the other pets. I promise."

It was more than that to Rapunzel- it was like being asked to part with her only source of comfort. Reluctantly, she set the cat carrier down, cringing at the lonely meowing that was being emitted from the crate.

"Now, more importantly," the woman started, "Where are your robes?"

Rapunzel looked up at her. The woman was young and slender and very tall, with light brown hair, bangs, and a hard demeanor.

"I don't have any." Rapunzel answered, meekly.

The woman stared at her long and hard for a second and then nodded her head.

"Okay. Go get in the boats with the other students." The woman waved her on, "_Phil really should be doing this…_" Rapunzel heard her grumble.

The ride across, what Rapunzel soon leaned was called, the Black Lake was enchanting. Despite the guilt she was still harboring and the insecurities she had about most certainly standing very much out by means of failure, the smooth journey was oddly comforting. Rapunzel trailed her hands through the water and watched the way the lamplight glistened on the black ripples.

Rapunzel was in a boat with five other students- two boys and three girls. Rapunzel noticed that the girl with short, pink hair was one of them.

"Taiga! Look; her hair is even longer than yours!" she shouted, enthusiastically. "Do you think perhaps it is a great magical aid to the dear arts of witchcraft?"

Before Rapunzel knew it, the girl had clambered over to her side of the boat, nearly tipping them over and caressing the locks.

"Minorin…" a girl with long, fluffy hair pulled her back over.

"I'm Minori Kushieda! And this is the great Palm-top Tiger!"

The Palm-Top Tiger was hopelessly short and looked way too young to even be a first year. Rapunzel stared blankly for a moment at being so frankly addressed.

"What are you looking at?" the girl growled. "Minoriiiii-in…" the girl's voice changed and was super-sweet, "Don't call me that!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Minori enthusiastically apologized.

The third girl in the boat was stunning with sleek, dark hair and a graceful demeanor. She didn't look towards anyone very much, but both boys, also with dark hair, were attuned to the conversation.

"And this is Yusaku and Ryugi!" Minori finished. "And Ami." She gestured to the girl who looked over coyly and flipped her hair.

"You're not wearing any robes." Ami smiled and turned her gaze to Rapunzel.

Rapunzel faltered.

"I wouldn't change if my clothes were that cute!" Minori chimed in for her and gave her a sly wink when Ami had turned away. "Are you a muggle-born, too?"

"I think so." Rapunzel brightened just a little.

"I'm a muggle-born, and Ryugi only lives with his mom, who's a muggle, and Yukasu is, too, right?"

"I am, indeed," the boy with glasses smiled at Rapunzel and she started to feel very warm in the presence of these people. Even the boy named Ryugi, who had very hard eyes, smiled at her, and the girl named Taiga, despite her gruff demeanor, didn't seem so bad.

"Taiga is a pureblood and so is Ami and they have been telling us all what to expect! I know! Let's play a game and all guess which houses we'll get sorted into!"

_ There was that word again. _Sorted. _What did they mean by sorted and…. Houses?_

"Let's see, Ravenclaw is for the smart, right, Ami? And Gryffindoodle was the brave…?"

"Griffindor." Ryugi threw in.

"Griffindor… and what were the other two?"

"Slytherin," Ami suddenly chimed in, "is for the great purebloods."

"I hear it's for the _evil._" Taiga stuck her tongue out at the pretty Ami.

"And Hufflepuff," she continued, ignoring the taunt, "Is for the leftovers."

Rapunzel sat quietly, intrigued.

"Ami is joking," the boy with glassed corrected, "Hufflepuff is not for leftovers."

"Hmph!"

The boat was slowly pulling up to a huge, illuminated castle.

"This is amazing!" Rapunzel breathed, hovering precariously over the side of the boat.

The amazement caught with every other member of the boat, even Ami, though she played it off coolly.

"We're actually here! May the grand adventure that will be the lives of us undeserving few be filled with GREATNESS!" Minori bubbled. Taiga, too, looked very pleased.

The boy named Ryugi played with his hair a lot and seemed to get a little flustered whenever Minori came a little too close to him; Rapunzel smiled at her observation.

The group was unloaded into the chamber of reception.

Rapunzel looked around in awe and the grandeur around her, and for a very small moment, she didn't regret any decision she had made if it meant it had led her here. Even disobeying her mother seemed minutely worth it.

The tall woman who had guided Rapunzel off the train was talking to another woman, also tall and young, but with a very cool demeanor. She was wearing highly fashionable muggle clothes and Rapunzel wondered tentatively if she wouldn't get in too much trouble if a professor was getting away with it. As the two talked, they looked over specifically at Rapunzel and met her glance.

The second, stylish woman approached Rapunzel as she heard the former mutter '_Why am I always doing everyone else's job?'_

"I'm Professor Choko, head of Gryffindor and Transfiguration professor, too. Come with me, if you would, quickly, we don't want you to miss the Sorting Ceremony."

Ckoko led Rapunzel down a hallway, walking very intently when around a corner came a very tall man in a white jacket with long, pink hair. He was so stunning, rather, that Rapunzel wondered for a brief moment if he might not be a woman. The man smiled at the two ladies who had halted abruptly.

"Professor Watase." Professor Choko addressed the man, nodding with the air of a bow.

"Ah, you must be one of our new pupils." The man eyed Rapunzel coolly.

"Rapunzel Gothel, sir."

"Sir, the student doesn't have any robes."

"No robes?" he seemed surprised, although Rapunzel wasn't wearing any. 'Ah, as if I knew…"

The man pulled from behind himself a neatly folded stack and handed it to Rapunzel. She looked quizzically at him and at Choko, but neither offered an explanation. She held up one garment to see a neatly folded grey sweater vest with the Hogwarts emblem sewn on.

"T-thank you!" Rapunzel gushed.

Professor Choko was staring inquisitively at the Watase, who had now turned and was walking away.

"Favors, favors can always be repaid,' he called over his shoulder.

There was a still silence after he made his turn, as if he had only come that direction specifically seeking the pair. Professor Choko sighed.

"The bathroom is right down there," she pointed, "Go change and meet me out here ASAP, got it?"

Rapunzel went and did as she was told, reliving her good luck and great joy. The clothes were a perfect fit, as if they had been tailored just for her body. In fact, it was everything she would have picked out; thigh high socks instead of pantyhose, a pleated skirt…. Even the cuffed shirt was the very exact length for her arms.

She came out of the bathroom to meet a vaguely impatient Choko.

"Your last name starts with….."

"G. Gothel."

"They may be done with the hat's song, but no worries, I'm sure they haven't gotten to the G's yet."

Choko hurried Rapunzel down to a huge set of wooden doors.

"I'm a muggle-born myself and I know its hard to adjust, but you're going to do just fine. And you never know," Choko winked down at her, "You might just be a Gryffindor."

The doors opened and before Rapunzel was the splendor of all of her dreams. Above her was the night sky, as crystal clear as if there had been no rain or clouds outside, or if there was no ceiling, either. Candles hinge unsuspended in midair above four long tables that stretched the whole length of the room. She could see, now, that all students wearing the same colored ties sat together. The four houses. She got it. They were getting separated.

Rapunzel felt slightly sad as she thought of the people she had met in the boat… how terrible it must be to have a friend and have to be apart from them to follow a system.

"Go that way." Choko motioned over to a group of students.

_Agrabah, Jasmine…Slytherin!_

A cheer erupted from a table of students with all green and silver ties. Rapunzel craned her neck to see who was talking.

_Aisaka, Taiga…_

Rapunzel saw the girl from her boat, the one they called Palm-Top Tiger go to the front where, on a stool, sat a hat. Behring the hat was another table on the platform that faced the student body. There sat the tall lady, Professor Choco, and Professor Watase.

_How did he get there so fast? _Rapunzel wondered.

Taiga walked up to the stool and put the hat on her head.

"Gryffindor!"

Now, a table filled with students wearing red and gold ties began to cheer. Taiga made eyes to the group of students and Rapunzel could see pink-haired Minoru cheering enthusiastically for her friend.

_Amanita, Ushio… Slytherin!_

_ Arendelle, Anna… Hufflepuff!_

_ Arendelle, Elsa… Ravenclaw_

_ Bjorgman, Kristoff…Griffindor_

_ deMaurice, Belle… Ravenclaw_

Rapunzel noticed that the yellow ties were Hufflepuff and the Blue was Ravenclaw and… what did the houses mean, again? Minoru had been talking about them. They sorted based on personality, right? Ravenclaw was…. Wait, there was a joke about one being evil… right? And one for leftovers? Was one of those Ravenclaw?

_ Dunbroch, Merida… Gryffindor!_

_ Fa, Milan… Gryffindor_

They were already at F. She was going to have to go up there soon. In front of the whole room. Sure, she was a little nervous, but much less nervous than she would have been without the robes. She brushed the front of the sweater vest gratefully, suddenly realizing she had left her clothes in the bathroom. She hit her head with the palm of her hand.

_Fitzherbert…_

"Flynn!" she heard a familiar voice echo across the room as a familiar face with floppy brown hair made his way to the front of the room.

"Flynn Fitzherbert."

Rapunzel didn't blink as the talking hat was lowered onto his head. The deliberation seemed infinite.

"Slytherin!" it shouted.

Rapunzel cheered with the green-tied table, although she didn't know why.

_Gothel, Rapunzel_

Rapunzel was pulled out of her own mind by the familiar name.

_Me. Oh right. I have to go._

Rapunzel made her way hesitantly to the front, aware that all eyes were on her, whether because of her hair, her recently darned robes, or the fact that no one had yet become bored with the ceremony.

She picked the hat up. It was old, tattered, but very nice, still.

Suddenly, in her hands, it became animated.

"Well? Put me on!" it said aloud, so shocking Rapunzel that she nearly dropped it. The whole student body chuckled. Rapunzel met eyes with Professor Watase who was studying her.

Hesitantly, she put the hat on and sat down.

_ Hmmm… _she could hear the hat in her head and it was as if her brain had become a two way link between them. She could almost feel a breeze, as open as the lack of privacy seemed. She wanted to tear the hat off of her head, but she sat still, waiting.

_Kind. Loyal. A true Hufflepuff. I would so put you there if…. Well Ravenclaw might also suit you. Lovegood was from Ravenclaw, a very sharp mind, seeing things others can't. Independence, you long for it. Gryffindor… yes, I see the bravery there, the willingness for sacrifice… well that brings us to Hufflepuff, too. It's not true what they say… 'leftovers', ha, never heard that one before… And Slytherin… ah… your mother doesn't know. I see. Ambition. Hufflepuff? Ravenclaw. Griffin- no, no, wait…._

Rapunzel stared out at the crowd, all who were watching her intently. It seemed as if forever was passing, but in reality, it must have only been a few seconds. Everyone else only took a few seconds. Maybe the open-brain thing warped one's perception of time.

If the hat was still thinking, it wasn't allowing its comments to reach Rapunzel's mind. She looked up at the wide brim flopping over her eyes.

People began making little coughs and fidgets. Rapunzel looked out for a familiar face and remembered the Slithering table. She looked over to find Flynn, but the first pair of eyes that met her were those of Adam.

Adam sat, unblinking, as the only student with no robes on.

The hat said nothing.

_ Is there a house you prefer? _It asked

_I don't know any. _Rapunzel was honest.

_ Such qualities, so evenly distributed…. And today, today…_

Rapunzel knew what the hat meant. If someone had asked her before the letter had come… before she knew… before her mother had said no… before she did it anyway… if someone had asked her who she was…

_Hades, Megara_

_ What?_

"What?" "Huh?" "I don't get it." "Did we not hear?"

Across the room, students erupted in murmurs of confusion.

"It didn't sort her."

Rapunzel took off the hat and turned to look back at the professors, all of whom looked equally shocked.

A girl with a brown ponytail made her way up front but Rapunzel didn't know where to go.


	6. Chapter 6

"Doesn't that mean she's in Hufflepuff?"

Rapunzel handed the hat to the girl called Megara.

The tall lady who had ushered the students off the train also had her hand on the hat, having come over while Rapunzel was still distracted.

"Professor Watase?"

The man with the pink hair stared at them.

"The other students need to be sorted."

The girl with the brown hair sat on the stool but the students were still mumbling.

"What are they gonna do with her?" Think she'll get kicked out?" "That's the girl with no robes… maybe she's not even magic." "She's obviously just a Hufflepuff." "Maybe the hat is broken."

Tears started to roll down Rapunzel's cheeks unwittingly. Her eyes were wide and unblinking. _No. After all of this?_

Professor Choko and the tall woman ushered Rapunzel out of the hall, away from the amazing smells of food, and the flickering candles, and people, into a room behind the teachers where she sat and listened.

_Slytherin._

_ Hanajima, Saki… Slytherin._

"What's wrong with me?" Rapunzel fretted from a chair. She didn't look at either woman, both of whom were giving each other worried glances.

"I guess we should put her with Hufflepuff… Helga would have taken her," she heard Choko say.

"There must have been a reason the sorting hat didn't put her there, then."

"Let's ask Yuri, that's all I can think of."

"When the ceremony is over, we bring the hat in here, give it as long as it wants to decide."

"I'm still sticking with Hufflepuff."

"Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to put a hat in charge of these kinds of decisions!?"

…_Holo… Ravenclaw._

_ Honda, Tohru, ….Hufflepuff_

_ Ichinomiya…_

Rapunzel stared blankly at the wall. Maybe if she could find a way to get back home, she could avoid this whole mess entirely. She could make an excuse for why she wasn't there when her mother got home… pretend the only thing magic about her was her hair… most people didn't even have that.

She didn't have enough of a defining personality to even sort her? How many decades had…

"I mean, how many centuries has this place been open and no one has ever been NOT sorted," Choko said.

Centuries.

Rapunzel gulped.

Well, she could give the clothes back and no longer be indebted to Professor what's-His-face…

If she was really a member of the clever house, she would have everything figured out.

If she was really a member of the brave house, she would have taken a stand. Against her mother. Against the stupid hat.

If she was a Slytherin, she wouldn't feel so awful about betraying her mother'

And if she was a Hufflepuff…. She'd be something.

_Kawashima, Ami… Slytherin._

_ Kerchak, Tarzan… Ravenclaw_

_ Kitamura, Yusaku… Ravenclaw_

_ Two of those names sounded familiar…_

_ Kushieda, Minori…_

Rapunzel was on the edge of her seat, listening.

_ Hufflepuff!_

"That's about half of them." The tall lady mumbled.

The time seemed to drag on.

_Lawrence, Craft… Ravenclaw_

_ Legume, Gaston… Gryffindor_

_ Oginome, Ringo… Gryffindor_

_ Olympia, Hercules… Gryffindor_

_ Otomiya, Haines… Hufflepuff_

_ Porter, Jane… Ravenclaw_

_ Sohma, Hatsuharu… _

_ "_You know," said the tall lady with a small laugh, "I heard that all the Sohmas are animagi."

"Shut up!"

"It's just a rumor, I mean, come on, they're just kids."

"I've heard of it happening."

"I shouldn't have said anything, don't want her getting the wrong idea."

Rapunzel looked up to see the tall lady winking at her. The lady stretched and stood up straight.

"I wanna hear this- I bet Slytherin gets at least one of them there's what…?"

"Six."

"Six of them coming through this year."

Rapunzel grew curious as well. It seemed that the boy, Hatsuharu, had gotten sorted into Hufflepuff.

_Sohma, Kagura… Gryffindor_

_ Sohma, Kyo… Slytherin_

_ Sohma, Rin… Slytherin_

_ Sohma, Yuki… Ravenclaw_

_ Southern Isles, Hans…_

"Wanna place bets on whether or not they are animagi?" the tall woman asked Professor Choko.

The shorter of the two shook her head and chuckled.

…_Slytherin_

_ Takakura, Himari… Hufflepuff_

_ Takakura, Kanba… Slytherin_

"More siblings?"

"I guess so. Heard the other ones were cousins, though. I mean, obviously not sextuplets…"

"All the same age?"

"No," the tall woman replied to Choko, "Um, I guess after they stopped enrolling the middle-schoolers, the enrollment age was left up to discretion of some parents…? I mean all of them are 14… 15… 16… but you know, only wizarding families. Others just have to wait till they get that letter."

"I think you're lying." Professor Choko replied.

"Not lying. Ask Watase."

"Up to discretion, my butt."

"After the whole Voldemort thing, parents are teaching their kids things at a younger age, now. Basics…"

Rapunzel tuned the two out.

_Takakura, Shoma… Hufflepuff_

_ Takasu, Ryugi… Hufflepuff_

Rapunzel recognized the name as that of the boy who had been looking coyly at Minori; she was secretly glad that the two were in the same house. As time passed, she was starting to become more at ease about not being sorted… it was like a sort of warmth had been coaxed out of the dreary lull of voices and she was no longer very at touch with reality, or ecstatic enough to believe it all to be true. It was too good to be true, so she listened to the sharp voice of the stupid hat like a dream, imagining all of those kids and all of the fun that could be had and she enjoyed it before she knew that very soon, she would have to wake up.

_Togu, Shizumasa… Gryffindor_

_ Tsujimiya, Maguri… Gryffindor_

_ Uotani, Arisa…Gryffindor_

There was a lengthy pause after the clapping for Arisa had stopped and she heard the distinct voice of Professor Watase…

"Gryffindors… Ravenclaws… Slytherin… and Hufflepuff… the esteemed houses. All have been sorted, except, obviously, one."

Rapunzel cringed. Was he always this blunt.

"And the night wouldn't be complete without that…"

"Are we supposed to bring her out?" Choko asked.

"I guess so?" the tall woman responded.

Rapunzel gazed up at both with wide eyes and then followed them out.

Despite being lit only with candlelight, the Great Hall seemed bright in comparison to the dark chamber she had been in. She felt like a spectacle and knew, very honestly, that she was. She wondered if they would try the hat again, but she looked at it and all of its previously animated features had fallen limp.

"So, how should we sort this young girl, huh? "

"We'll take her!" She heard a voice shout from the table with yellow ties. Hufflepuff. Minori's table.

"Ah, as you would, but… there would be a reason the Sorting Hat did not put her there. I know! Whoever wins the House Cup this year gets the girl!"

"PROFESSOR!" the tall woman yelled. The whole room was stunned into silence.

"I quite agree," said a male professor behind them with light brown hair, "We can't just not sort a girl for an entire year and then auction her off like a prize to be won."

"This is madness." Said another with glasses.

"I'm the headmaster," said Watase, "And I think my logic is sufficient. Let's see what house is worthy of a girl who's priceless."

Rapunzel was suddenly embarrassed and looked out at the crowd hesitantly.

"Where is she to sleep?"

"What is sleep?" the headmaster waved his hand.

Rapunzel began to panic. _This was such a bad idea, such a bad, bad idea. Never should have left, never should have…_

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. The male teacher with the light brown hair had a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry… you're going to be a Hufflepuff…" he started to guide her down to the table of yellow-ties.

Leftovers… no one else was a leftover, everyone else was picked. Just her… leftover…

"Kureno," the tall woman cautioned, "If she ends up sorted to another house, she'll know how to get into the Hufflepuff Common room…"

"Oh well, I trust her…" he addressed Rapunzel, "Are you trustworthy?"

Rapunzel was so sick to her stomach that the voices just flooded like radio static. She wanted to go home.

"You can trust me."

"Okay, go sit down."


End file.
